


learn something

by wafflelate



Series: never dream of regretting [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Impromptu Date Night, M/M, Mentions of Tenten, Peggy Sue, Rivalry, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 05:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17860979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflelate/pseuds/wafflelate
Summary: Kakashi gets a chance to do a conversation over again and this time he doesn't bother pretending not to know the names of Gai's students.





	learn something

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tuesday](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuesday/gifts).



> Your sign up asked for all this time travel and, dang, do I love time travel. It felt like you deserved more time travel. So here I am, just barely still in the anon period, kinda remixing [my own fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17777486) for you via time travel because you said you liked to see characters re-do events.
> 
> Thanks to the Agenda, Voldecourt, and rayday for betaing!

Kakashi comes back from the future to the early morning, before the birds have even properly started singing. For a moment it's so still and quiet he thinks maybe all that technique managed to do was kill him a little faster — but then there's the familiar light thunk of a patrol landing on the roof of the building, and the rattling of a cart working its way down the street outside. 

It worked. 

It doesn't really change anything that Kakashi remembers — time and space don't warp like that, no human technique could erase what's happened — but it is a chance to try again. 

Kakashi puts down the book he's apparently been reading, then reconsiders and checks the publish date. 55 years after founding, and for a moment Kakashi thinks that maybe the calculations were wrong, maybe he'll be in time to stop the Uchiha massacre, but the rest of the apartment tells him plainly that it's too late for that by several years. 

At least (and unfortunately) Mr. Ukki and the team photo are missing, so his team is still in the Academy. Kakashi isn't really looking forward to Naruto as a genin again, but this still seems to be earlier than Kakashi thought it would be. The only way to narrow things down further is to leave the apartment, and at this hour there's only one good source of information available. 

He'll have to join Gai on his morning run. 

Kakashi showers, eats, gets dressed. He drops out his window and strolls towards the edge of the training fields, where he waits patiently. About ten minutes later, Gai's chakra comes into his range, followed very shortly by Gai himself coming into sight. 

Just like always, Kakashi slides into step with Gai without a word. Matches him pace for pace, synchs their footsteps perfectly. 

"My rival, so youthful and ambitious for you to join me so early!" Gai calls. 

"Hm? Oh, you're here," Kakashi says, and picks up the pace just a fraction to eek out a lead. 

Gai increases his speed in response, and then Kakashi goes faster _again_ , and pretty soon they're hurtling around the training grounds at break-neck jōnin speed, racing like their lives depend on it, nearly trampling two chūnin who don't leap out of the way until the very last second. 

And Gai wins, of course he does, which is just fine. Perfect, even; Kakashi is just glad they're both alive. 

"I'll give you the chance to even the score again with a spar, Kakashi," Gai says when they've caught their breath. "That is, if you think you can beat me!" He strikes a pose to say it, too, one hand on his chin, the other folded across his chest to hold his elbow. It's ridiculous, and Kakashi has missed it so much. 

Kakashi shrugs, already moving towards Gai's usual training field. Running hadn't exactly left any time or breath to get information out of Gai, and it isn't as if there's anywhere else Kakashi wants to be. 

They spar, break to share Gai's water, and then spar again. Kakashi learns that Gai has his team already, and that they're recently returned from one of their first C-ranks. After the second spar, Gai says, "Since no one has come looking for you, you must have the day free! I challenge you to a glorious test of endurance, Kakashi. Sunrise to sunset!" 

It's possible — even likely — that Kakashi has a meeting today, or paperwork to fill in, and it's just that no one has thought to check the training fields in their quest to get him to attend. On the other hand, Kakashi had synched his free days with Gai's free days as much as possible following Gai's acquisition of genin. So Kakashi accepts the challenge, and only realizes hours later that this is the day he agreed to teach Gai sealing. 

The difference is: this time, when Gai starts is cool-down stretches as the sun sinks, Kakashi doesn't flush his muscles with chakra immediately. He starts the script. He asks, "Why are you doing that?" 

"Lee is unable to consciously use chakra to prevent cramping and requires an extensive cool-down routine when he's done training! As his teacher, it's my job to lead by example, so from now on I'll be doing things the Lee way!" Gai grins at him, stretching his arms above his head and bending to the side. "Additionally, stretching has many benefits!" 

Kakashi can honestly say that changing his routine like this _definitely_ came with benefits last time around. Very flexible benefits. And Kakashi had stayed out of it last time, had just stood there and waited for Gai to be finished, but this time... this time Kakashi nods, and moves into his own series of stretches. 

If Gai is going to do it, then Kakashi will do it too. 

They stretch together in silence, a comfortable but also new task to perform together. It seems to Kakashi that this time Gai holds his stretches for a shorter time, that he poses less provocatively, but maybe it's just that Kakashi is too focused on his own body and on the inevitable upcoming conversation to get lost in watching Gai move. 

Something definitely _has_ changed already, though. Gai doesn't ask him about sealing, and when the sun goes down, they're three kinds of fried food deep into the summer festival they'd mostly skipped the last time Kakashi had lived through this day. 

For a change of pace, Kakashi accidentally-on-purpose incites a new challenge for the day over catching individual pieces of takoyaki in their mouths. The both of them cradling servings of takoyaki on disposable wooden boats, dodging civilians, and eventually drawing a small crowd of onlookers. Most of them colleagues, some of them placing bets. 

It becomes serious when Mitarashi Anko laughs in Yamashiro Aoba's face loud enough to draw Gai's attention and then says, "That's a sucker's bet! Hatake's got a mask on. Totally unfair." 

Gai turns away from the contest, last takoyaki still clutched delicately in one hand. "Unfair?" he asks. 

Kakashi is amused to see a shiver of dread crawl through the crowd. 

"I'm sure that's not what Anko meant," Aoba says quickly, but not quickly enough. 

"All bets are cancelled!" Gai announces. He eats the last piece of takoyaki himself to really seal the deal, and ignores the groans and complaints from the crowd. Then he turns to his left and calls out, "Genma! You carry a spare bandana, do you not?" 

Genma turns around — slowly, deliberately, chewing his senbon in consideration. "Maybe," he says. "What's it worth?" 

"Aw, c'mon, Shiranui," Anko says. 

"My gratitude and affection!" Gai says. 

Kakashi's not really sure which of those wins Genma over, but he fishes his extra bandana out and hands it over to Gai, and says, "Keep it, seriously." 

Gai ties the bandana around the lower-half of his face, more takoyaki is procured from the street vendor, and then the challenge is back on. Both of them using sleight of hand, misdirection, and ANBU-level chakra tricks to continue the contest without appearing to eat anything at all. 

The crowd swells. Genma asks, "But could they do this with _taiyaki?_ " and then the whole production inches down the isle of stalls until Kakashi and Gai are snatching fish-shaped cakes filled with red bean paste from the air. He and Gai go on to prove that they can both _also_ play this game with full servings of yakisoba. Then they turn to consider the okonomiyaki stand, at which point Anko declares that she needs a drink and most of their audience peels off towards the bars in agreement. 

"A tie," Gai observes, sighing, when they're alone in the loose press of the festival crowd again. 

"A delicious tie," Kakashi agrees. "But only if you're going to quit now." 

Maito Gai never quits, and would never let Kakashi quit either, so of course he agrees that they _should_ have a tie-breaker round. The impassioned defense of their combined perseverance does eventually come to a halt, though, and Gai is silent for awhile. Not exactly uncharacteristically, but it still stands out to Kakashi. 

Probably because he knows what Gai is thinking about, this time. 

"One of my students," Gai eventually says, "requires specialized storage seals, but can't afford to buy them." The words are carefully handled, like an Academy student trying to figure out how to pick up shuriken, 

Last time, Kakashi had said something about Neji. Had thought about how unlikely it was that the Hyuuga would want a branch clan member around any kind of specialized sealing, maybe. 

This time, he just says, "Tenten?" because it's not as if Gai doesn't know that Kakashi's read his genin's files, and there's no real use in trying to keep from getting to know Gai's students. It was a doomed attempt from the start — they were always going to be important; they're _Gai's_ — and now Kakashi _already_ knows them. 

Gai smiles at him, and purposefully bumps their shoulders together as they turn the corner down the next isle of stalls. 

Kakashi tucks his hands into his pocket and looks away, across the crowd of civilians and ninja mingling at the festival, ostensibly in search of more festival food suitable to continue their contest. Gekkō Hayate is nearby, alive and no more sick than usual, talking to Yūgao about the fire display down by the river. Kakashi has to force his eyes to slide past them naturally, as if there's nothing notable about it. There isn't. He hadn't even known Gekkō Hayate. Doesn't even know him. Whichever. 

"Yes," Gai goes on to say. "She ran out of weapons." His lips quirk. "She knocked a man out by throwing a soup ladle. Another with a tent pole!" 

"Resourceful," Kakashi says approvingly. Because Tenten is. Will be. Has always been. Eyeing a particularly promising food stall, Kakashi says, "Storage scrolls for physical objects aren't _too_ hard to learn," trying to tack the comment on nonchalantly, like it means nothing. 

But no such luck, of course. It brings Gai to a halt in his tracks, so suddenly the civilian lady walking behind him knocks into him and almost falls over. Kakashi stops, too, but doesn't turn and look at Gai until the civilian has been loudly and enthusiastically apologized to and then hurried off. 

Gai is lit only by the paper lanterns of the festival, a soft and uneven light that does nothing to hide the guilt that flashes across his face, an almost stricken expression, as if Kakashi has flung a sharp accusation in his face. He brings a hand up, but doesn't bring it to Kakashi's shoulder the way Kakashi is expecting — he hesitates, and then clenches his hand into a fist. "I would never ask you to teach her, Kakashi," Gai promises. "That's not why I brought it up." 

Some of Kakashi's favorite memories are of nights spent teaching Gai about storage seals. Walking him through the math and logic needed to fold reality into a pocket and then bind it to a scroll of paper. He wouldn't give up the memory of those nights for anything, and he's not opposed to doing it again, but there's no point in coming back if he's going to do everything exactly the same. 

Something has to change, and it might as well start here. With Tenten. With him and Gai and Gai's team. 

Kakashi folds a gloved hand over Gai's clenched fist and pushes it gently down and away. "She's your student." 

"She is, glorious and hard-working! But I—" 

"I'm offering to teach her," Kakashi clarifies. He finishes pushing Gai's hand down and lets his hand trail up Gai's arm on the way to returning it to his personal space, deliberate but seemingly incidental contact to punctuate his sincerity. "The knowledge should go to someone, and it sounds like she needs to learn." 

"I—I am sure she'll be—" Gai looks overwhelmed for a moment. And not the kind of joyously, hilariously overwhelmed he usually looks when he's waxing poetic about Lee or something. This is a different thing, more solemn, subtly different and a little unnerving. 

"She sure will be," Kakashi agrees, and lets his hand land on Gai's bicep because maybe Gai needs reassurance. Or something. This really isn't the place to try and hash that out. Or to get distracted by Gai's bicep. 

Gai straightens up a little — but notably not in any way that could be construed as an attempt to subtly shake off Kakashi's hand — and seems to pull himself back together. "I'm glad you've found a pupil who's ignited your desire to be a teacher at long last!" 

"I don't know if I'd go that far, I haven't met her," Kakashi mutters. " _You're_ the one that picked her." 

Though he does feel cautiously optimistic. Tenten had always been the reasonable one. The reliable one. Definitely unlikely to set herself on fire — literally or figuratively — which Kakashi has decided is a quality he's really looking for in his students. 

"You'll like her," Gai declares, and then seeming to sense (as he always does) that Kakashi is ready to be done with this conversation, he demands that they get back to their eating competition. So they do desert, which neither of them win, and then briefly stop in at the bar the special jōnin all prefer to let Anko and Aoba and the rest know that this challenge was definitively a tie. 

After that Kakashi pointedly doesn't invite Gai back to his place... but just as pointedly _does_ follow Gai home. Another disruption of their usual pattern, but Gai doesn't say anything about it. That's the great thing about Gai: he doesn't _always_ have to ask after everything he notices. 

Gai has a couch and a spare room, but Kakashi sprawls across Gai's bed like he owns it and then, imperiously, demands, "Bring me your lesson plans." 

This just gets him laughed at, the low polite rumble of Gai trying not to disturb his neighbors _too_ much, and then Gai is turning off the lights and crawling into bed with him, looking as tired as Kakashi suddenly feels when Gai's body heat joins him under the covers. 

"In the morning," Gai promises him. "There will be time in the morning." 


End file.
